Blogs and Articles
To encourage worshipful, generous-hearted living
For the most recent blog or to see articles by dates, look down the list on the right.
Daily devotions often bring surprises. Take James, chapter 5, for example, which I encountered recently as if for the very first time. In verses 13-20, James describes the basics of Christian community. Pray in your suffering, he says. Sing songs of praise. Pray for the sick. Confess your sins and pray to be forgiven. Pray…
Based on “Growing Generosity: Identity as Stewards in the United Church of Canada,” a 2009 United Church of Canada study, by Barbara Fullerton What best practices in the local church correlate with increased financial giving? A six-year study of the congregations in the United Church of Canada revealed six essential behaviors: 1. Operational management with…
Okay, so we are getting closer to the U.S. tax deadline of April 15. It’s not as easy anymore (if it ever was for us) to just turn over our financial plans or receipts and have someone else do it for us: a spouse, an administrative assistant, a doctor or even an employer. These days,…
Financial security is a subjective thing. Certainly, it has to do with making our income and expense numbers come out right. But it also depends upon perception: our emotional well-being and personal answer to the question, “How much is enough to live on?” One devotional Scripture for today is in Hebrews 13, which says in…
I hate being sick. When I do get sick, my temptation is to refuse to acknowledge the reality that would allow me to rest and focus on healing. When I engage in such denial, I try to plow ahead with my own plans, and then get worse. Use of the word “temptation” here is deliberate,…
What are youth learning about healthy money habits from the adults around them? How can local churches help shape young people’s financial values? The issue is urgent, and some churches are stepping up to the task. Take Christ Church in Richmond, Virginia, for example. To grow generosity among their members, they knew they needed to…
“Yes, Scripture reminds us that God loves a cheerful giver. But how can we become generous, joyful givers?” This is the question that Yvonne Martinez Thorne asks in “A Practical View,” in the just-out 2011 issue of Giving: Growing Joyful Stewards in Your Congregation magazine.1 Ah, this is a key question, isn’t it? Most of…
Here are sample themes you could use for a year-round Generosity Plan. You might pick one Scripture as the umbrella theme for the entire year for your congregation’s ministries, or you may just use the quarterly themes. Either way, you can weave in worship and Christian education topics and other dimensions of your ministry. Within…
What would it take to help your congregation develop a plan for cultivating generosity year-round? The East Ohio United Methodist Foundation has created an incentive for local churches in its conference, called the Five Star Stewardship Award. “The important thing is not to compete with other churches or gain a certain number of points, but…
Children can both learn and teach about faithful stewardship. All that we have belongs to God, and we get to share, manage, and use it on God’s behalf. Stewardship is caring the way God cares for the earth; our minds and bodies; our abilities, money and things; and our choices, time and relationships, all in…